Digital landmarks

ABSTRACT

Techniques are described for providing an indication of creative digital media associated with a geographic location. Embodiments determine positional information corresponding to a geographic location. One or more instances of creative digital media that include content with a predefined association with the geographic location are identified from a plurality of instances of creative digital media. Embodiments provide an indication of at least a portion of the identified instances of creative digital media.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/153,600 filed Jun. 6, 2011. The aforementioned relatedpatent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to digital media, and moreparticularly, to providing recommendations of creative digital media toa user based on a geographical location of the user.

2. Description of the Related Art

The amount of available creative digital media is growing at anever-increasing rate, with both new digital content being created andolder content being converted into a digital format. Today, a number ofdevices exist for viewing and playing creative digital media. Examplesof such devices include computer systems, mobile phones, specializedmedia players (e.g., mp3 players), tablet computers, portable gamingdevices and so on. However, as the amount of creative digital mediacontinues to grow, it becomes increasingly more difficult for users tofind relevant creative digital media that the user would be interestedin. Although search functionality can assist users in locating specificcreative digital media, such functionality is limited to the user'sability to construct a proper search query. Furthermore, when the useris unclear about what creative digital media he is searching for,searching may require a substantial amount of time, as the user viewsvarious search results and refines the search query. Moreover, manuallysearching for creative digital media may not always be practical, as notall devices that are capable of playing creative digital media aresuitable for performing such searches.

SUMMARY

Embodiments provide a computer-implemented method, computer-readablestorage medium and system. The computer-implemented method,computer-readable storage medium and system include determiningpositional information corresponding to a geographic location.Additionally, the computer-implemented method, computer-readable storagemedium and system include identifying one or more instances of creativedigital media from a plurality of creative digital media that includecontent with a predefined association with the geographic location. Thecomputer-implemented method, computer-readable storage medium and systemalso include providing an indication of at least a portion of theidentified instances of creative digital media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited aspects are attained andcan be understood in detail, a more particular description ofembodiments of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had byreference to the appended drawings.

It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of a digital landmark component illustratingnearby digital landmarks, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a user operating a mobile device configured with adigital landmark component, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 4A-3B are screenshots illustrating an interface for a digitallandmark component, according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitallandmarks, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitallandmarks, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitalcontent related to digital landmarks, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention provide techniques for notifying a user ofcreative digital media that is relevant to a geographical position. Asused herein, “creative digital media” broadly refers to any creativemedia stored in a digital format. Examples of such media include,without limitation, audio content, video content, image content, andgaming content. Furthermore, instances of creative digital media aremedia content that is associated with one or more geographicallocations. For instance, creative digital media may be associated withan event occurring at a particular location (e.g., a scene in a moviewas filmed at the location), associated with an event depicted to occurat the location (e.g., the scene in the movie depicted a second,different location) or have a cultural or artistic tie to the location(e.g., a particular song is associated with a genre that is culturallytied to the location). Such an event could be specified using a time, aplace, and an action having occurred at the specified place and at thespecified time. As such, creative digital media as used herein isdistinct from non-creative media content (digital or otherwise).Examples of non-creative media content could include purelyinformational content, such as digital maps, images of landmarksdesigned to facilitate navigation to a particular location, andinformation directories (e.g., phonebooks). Upon receiving locationinformation specifying a user's current geographical location,embodiments of the invention may identify creative digital mediaassociated with the user's location and notify the user of theidentified creative digital media. The user's current geographicalposition may be communicated by, for instance, a global positioningsystem (“GPS”) equipped device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component 25. As shown, the system 10 includes a clientdevice 15, communicatively coupled to a digital landmark component 25,which in turn is communicatively coupled to a data store of mediacontent 30. The client device 15 generally represents any device that isconfigurable to perform a location determination algorithm 20. Thelocation determination algorithm 20 generally represents any algorithmwhich may be used to determine a geographical location. Examples of suchan algorithm 20 include, without limitation, radio transmissiontriangulation algorithms and network address triangulation algorithms.Such radio transmission triangulation algorithms may include GPScoordinate triangulation and Wi-Fi coordinate triangulation. Forinstance, according to one embodiment of the invention, the clientdevice 15 is a mobile phone equipped with GPS functionality forperforming the location determination algorithm 20. As a second example,the client device 15 may be configured to triangulate its position usingWi-Fi coordinate triangulation, based on nearby wireless access pointsin an extensive Wi-Fi network. The digital landmark component 25 mayreceive location information from the client device 15 and may identifyinstances of media content 30 associated with the location information.The digital landmark component 25 may then notify a user of the clientdevice 15 about the identified media content 30.

As an example, a film 35 encoded in a digital format could have a firstassociation with a first location where a first scene 40 ₁ of the filmwas filmed and a second association with a second location which asecond scene 40 ₂ of the film depicts (i.e., that is different from thefirst location). In the depicted example, these associations arespecified using tags 45, each of which specifying related locationinformation for the corresponding scene 40 of the film 35. Continuingthe example, if a user travels to the first location with the clientdevice 15, the digital landmark component 25 digital landmark component25 may determine that the user's current location matches the firstlocation associated with the first scene 40 ₁ of the film and notify theuser of the film. Additionally, such a notification may specify thefilm's association with the user's location. As an example, thenotification could prompt the user with film-related trivia, such as“Did you know that FILM_NAME was filmed here in 2001?” Advantageously,doing so provides interesting information about creative digital mediato the user as the user travels to different geographical locations.

In one embodiment, the digital landmark component 25 is configured toidentify a particular portion of an instance of creative digital mediathat is associated with the user's location. For instance, the digitallandmark component 25 could identify scenes 40 of the film 35 which werefilmed at the user's location and notify the user about these identifiedscenes 40. The digital landmark component 25 may further enable the userto view the identified scenes of the film or even the entire filmitself. In one embodiment, the digital landmark component 25 isconfigured to search only for creative digital media which the user isalready authorized to view (e.g., only films which the user already ownsa digital copy of). In another embodiment, a fee (e.g., a subscriptionfee, a per-viewing fee, etc.) may be associated with viewing creativedigital media which the user has not already purchased.

Upon identifying creative digital media related to the user's location,the digital landmark component 25 may be further configured to identifyother creative digital media related to the identified creative digitalmedia. Continuing the above example, upon determining that the film hasan association with the user's current geographical location, thedigital landmark component 25 may further identify digital audio contentthat is related to the film. For instance, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 may identify digital audio content appearing on thesoundtrack of the film. The digital landmark component 25 may thennotify the user of the related audio content and enable the user tolisten to and/or purchase the related audio content. By doing this,embodiments advantageously promote related creative digital media in anentertaining way, which may in turn increase both sales and awareness ofthe related creative digital media.

While the above example involves identifying creative digital mediarelated to a user's current geographic location, embodiments of theinvention may be configured to identify creative digital media relatedto previous geographic locations of the user. As an example, a usercould record home videos using a device (e.g., a digital camcorder)configured with a location determination algorithm (e.g., a GPS-equippeddigital camcorder). Accordingly, the device could tag or otherwiseassociate the recorded home videos with location information specifyingwhere the respective home video was recorded. At some later point intime (e.g., when the user is editing a recorded home video using acomputer), the digital landmark component 25 could identify creativedigital media associated with the previous location informationassociated with the home video (i.e., the location where the home videowas recorded) and notify the user of the identified creative digitalmedia.

Although the above example involves a single instance of creativedigital media (i.e., a film), a geographical location may in practice beassociated with a substantial number of different instances of creativedigital media. For instance, FIG. 2 shows a screenshot of a digitallandmark component 25 illustrating nearby digital landmarks, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. As used herein, a “digitallandmark” refers to an instance of creative digital media determined tohave a relationship or association with a particular location. As shown,the screenshot 100 shows a location 110 and digital landmarks 120associated with the location 110. For instance, the landmark 120 ₁indicates that a particular genre of music is associated with thelocation 110. In one embodiment, upon determining that the user'scurrent location matches the location 110, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 may notify the user of music selections from the particulargenre of music associated with the location 110.

As another example, the landmark 120 ₂ indicates that a particular videogame is associated with the location 110 because a scene of the videogame depicts the location 110. As such, when the user travels to thelocation 110, the digital landmark component 25 may notify the user ofthe video game's association with the location 110. The digital landmarkcomponent 25 may further prompt the user with information on, forinstance, trailers for the video game showing the depicted location 110and purchase information for obtaining a copy of the video game.Alternatively, if the user already owns a copy of the video game, thedigital landmark component 25 may prompt the user as to whether the userwishes to play the video game.

The landmark 120 ₃ indicates that a particular scene of a movie wasfilmed at the location 110. As such, when the user travels to thelocation 110, the digital landmark component 25 may notify the user ofthe film and the scene(s) of the film relevant to the location 110.Additionally, the digital landmark component 25 may provide the userwith additional details regarding the relevant scenes of the film. Forinstance, assume a particular scene involves a chase scene involving twocars throughout various streets in the location 110. In such a scenario,the digital landmark component 25 may prompt the user with a mapdetailing the streets involved in the chase scene, as well as the routethe two cars followed in the scene. The user may then follow the exactroute of the chase scene in person using the provided map.Advantageously, doing so provides an interesting way for the user tolearn more about the film. As a result, this may positively affect theuser's appreciation of the film, as well as the likelihood the userwishes to purchase the film.

As yet another example, the digital landmark 120 ₄ indicates that theoriginal copy of an instance of creative digital media is on display atthe location 110. For instance, for an animated cartoon movie, anoriginal frame used in creating the cartoon may be display in a museumat the location 110. As such, when the user travels to the location 110,the digital landmark component 25 may notify the user of the frame thatis on display and further notify the user about relevant information forviewing the exhibit. For instance, the digital landmark component 25could provide the user with a map from the user's current location tothe museum's location and information about the museum itself (e.g.,admission costs, hours of operation, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates a user operating a mobile device configured with adigital landmark component 25, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, the scene 200 includes a user 210 holding amobile device 220 equipped with a digital landmark component 25. Here,as the user 210 walks along a street, the digital landmark component 25prompts the user with information on creative digital media related tothe user's current location. For instance, when the user 210 reaches anintersection where a well-known movie scene was filmed, the digitallandmark component 25 could notify the user that the movie scene wasfilmed in the user's current location. The digital landmark component 25may further prompt the user to view the scene of the movie, withadditional movie information, with purchase information for the movie,and so on. As the user continues to walk down the street, the digitallandmark component 25 may continue to identify creative digital mediarelated to the user's location. For instance, upon reaching a secondintersection, the digital landmark component 25 could determine that aparticular song makes reference to the second intersection and notifythe user of the song. Advantageously, by doing this, embodiments of theinvention provide interesting and fun ways to inform users of creativedigital media that may be of interest to the user.

FIGS. 4A-3B are screenshots illustrating an interface for a digitallandmark component 25, according to embodiments of the presentinvention. Initially, as discussed above, the nearby digital landmarkrepresents an instance of creative digital media associated with anearby geographic location. Furthermore, while a digital landmarkassociated with a film is used for the following examples, digitallandmarks more generally may be associated with any type of creativedigital media. Referring now to FIG. 4A, the screenshot 300 illustratesan interface for a digital landmark component 25 showing a nearbydigital landmark, according to one embodiment of the present invention.Here, the digital landmark component 25 provides landmark information305 to the user, which identifies the digital landmark and associatedtrivia about the landmark. For instance, in the present example, thedigital landmark component 25 notifies the user that the nearby digitallandmark (i.e., the film MOVIE_NAME) was filmed at the user'sgeographical location in the year 2001. Additionally, the interfaceprovides a MORE button 310, which, when accessed, provides additionalinformation 305 about the digital landmark to the user.

The screenshot 300 also contains a video player component 315. The videoplayer component 315 may be configured to play a relevant portion of anidentified digital landmark. For instance, the playback of the relevantportion may begin upon the user depressing the PLAY CLIP button 320. Inone embodiment, the playback begins automatically upon the user comingin proximity with the location associated with the digital landmark. Asan example, as the user comes into proximity with a geographicallocation associated with a digital landmark, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 could determine location information associated with theuser's current position and identify a particular scene in the filmMOVIE_NAME associated with the user's geographical location. The digitallandmark component 25 could then play the identified scene of the filmusing the video player component 315. Advantageously, this provides andinteresting and fun way to make the user aware of creative digital mediaas the user travels to various geographical locations.

The screenshot 300 further includes a PURCHASE MOVIE button 325 whichenables the user to purchase a digital copy of the digital landmark.Once purchased, the digital copy could then be played using the videoplayer component 315 or more generally by any media player capable ofplaying such creative digital media. Continuing the above example, thePURCHASE MOVIE button 325 could become available to the user after theidentified scene of the digital landmark has played on the video playercomponent 315. In this way, the user may be encouraged to purchase thefilm by capturing the user's interest with the scene played on the videoplayer component 315.

As discussed above, in addition to playing the identified scene of thefilm, the digital landmark component 25 may also guide the user along aroute and destination shown in the film. FIG. 4B is a screenshot 340illustrating an interface for a digital landmark component 25 showing anearby digital landmark. As shown, the screenshot shows a map 345 whichis marked to show a current position of the user 360 and a path 355 to adestination 350. Here, the path 355 and destination 350 correspond to aroute shown in the identified scene of the digital landmark film. Forinstance, assume that the digital landmark component 25 determines thata car chase scene in the film MOVIE_NAME is associated with the user'scurrent position because the user's current position is on the routewhere the scene was filmed. In such an example, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 could prompt the user with the map 345, showing the userthe exact route 355 the cars travelled in the film. Additionally, themap 345 could continue to update the user's position 360 as the usertravels along the route 355. Advantageously, doing so provides aninteractive way to display film information to the user, which may inturn increase the user's interest in the film itself.

In one embodiment, as the user travels along the route 355, the digitallandmark component 25 displays a relevant portion of the scene (e.g.,using the video player component 315). For instance, it is contemplatedthat the digital landmark component 25 divides the scene of the filminto segments and as the user travels along the route 355, the digitallandmark component 25 plays each of the scene segments. The digitallandmark component 25 may divide the scene into predetermined number ofsegments (e.g., 4 segments). Here, as the user traverses a portion ofthe route (e.g., 25%), the digital landmark component 25 may play acorresponding segment of the scene. In one embodiment, the digitallandmark component 25 divides the scene into segments of a predeterminedlength (e.g., 6 seconds each). In such an embodiment, the digitallandmark component 25 could also determine a total distance travelled inthe chase scene, as well as a distance travelled during each segment.Continuing the example, as the user traverses the determined distance,the digital landmark component 25 could play the corresponding segmentof the scene. Doing so provides an interesting and interactive techniquefor displaying the scene of the film to the user.

In another embodiment, the digital landmark component 25 may generate amap directing the user from the user's current location to the locationassociated with particular creative digital media. For example, thedigital landmark component 25 could determine that scenes of aparticular film were shot at a first location that is 3 blocks away fromthe user's present location. In such an example, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 could determine a route from the user's present location tothe determined first location and could display a map of the determinedroute to the user. Once the user reaches the first location, the digitallandmark component 25 could display a second map to the user of a routetravelled in the scene of the film, as described above.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitallandmarks, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown, the method 400 begins at step 405, where the digital landmarkcomponent 25 receives location information for a user. As discussedabove, the location information may be determined by a GPS deviceassociated with the user (e.g., the user's GPS-equipped mobile phone).In one embodiment, the location information may be determined usingnetwork address triangulation. For instance, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 may identify an internet protocol (“IP”) address associatedwith the user (e.g., the IP address of the user's computer) andtriangulate the user's geographic location based on the identified IPaddress. More generally, however, any technique for determining theuser's current geographical location may be used with embodiments of thepresent invention.

Once the location information is received, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 identifies instances of creative digital media that arerelated to the received location (step 410). The digital landmarkcomponent 25 may be configured to identify only digital landmarks havingan association with the user's exact geographical location. In oneembodiment, the digital landmark component 25 is configured to identifyall digital landmarks having an association within a predetermineddistance from the user's geographical location. For example, the digitallandmark component 25 could be configured to identify all digitallandmarks having an association with a location within 10 miles of theuser's geographical location. In another embodiment, the digitallandmark component 25 is configured to identify all digital landmarkswithin the user's current geographic region. For instance, upondetermining that the user is currently located in San Francisco, thedigital landmark component 25 could identify all digital landmarkshaving an association with the city San Francisco. In one embodiment,the digital landmark component 25 is configured to identify onlycreative digital media which the user is authorized to access. This mayinclude, for instance, creative digital media which the user has alreadypurchased a copy of, as well as creative digital media accessible by theuser as part of a subscription plan for the user.

Once the related instances of digital are identified, the digitallandmark component 25 then determines a relevance of each instance ofcreative digital media for the user (step 415). The digital landmarkcomponent 25 may determine the relevancy value based on, for instance,historical data for the user indicating the personal preferences of theuser. For instance, the historical data may indicate that a particularuser may have previously accessed a substantial number of music filesand music-related content (e.g., music-related web pages), but the userhas not shown any previous interest in video games. Based on this, thedigital landmark component 25 may determine that digital landmarks nearthe location relating to audio content are more relevant to theparticular user, while nearby digital landmarks relating to video gamesare less relevant. Additionally, the relevancy value may be determinedbased on the proximity of the location the creative digital media isassociated with to the user's present location. In such an embodiment,the digital landmark component 25 could determine that creative digitalmedia associated with a location 1 mile from the user's present locationis more relevant than second creative digital media associated with asecond location 20 miles from the user's present location.

In particular embodiments, the relevancy value is determined based atleast in part on temporal information for the creative digital media.That is, for creative digital media having some association with anevent either occurring at a particular location or depicted to occur atthe particular location, the digital landmark component 25 may considerwhen the event occurred in determining the relevancy of the creativedigital media. For instance, a user could specify (e.g., in a userprofile or explicitly in a request to identify relevant creative digitalmedia) a range of time that the user is particularly interested in. Asan example, the user could specify that movies associated with the 1990sare of particular interest. As such, the digital landmark component 25could consider creative digital media associated with events occurringduring the 1990s (or depicted to occur during the 1990s) as particularlyrelevant to the user.

In one embodiment, the digital landmark component 25 is configured todetermine time periods that the user is interested in based onhistorical data characterizing previous actions of the user. Forinstance, the digital landmark component 25 could monitor the user'sinteractions with creative digital media and determine that the userfrequently interacts with content from a particular time period (e.g.,the 1990s). As such, when determining the relevancy of creative digitalmedia for the user, the digital landmark component 25 could considercontent from the particular time period to be more relevant to the user,based on the user's previous interactions.

In one embodiment, the user may explicitly specify parameters for use indetermining the relevance of identified digital landmarks. For instance,the user could maintain a user profile with the digital landmarkcomponent 25 which stores user preferences for the user. As an example,the user could specify in the user profile which types of creativedigital media the digital landmark component 25 should (or should not)identify digital landmarks for. In one embodiment, the user may specifyparameters for use in the context of a single request to identify nearbydigital landmarks. For instance, the user could request (e.g., using aninterface of the digital landmark component 25) that the digitallandmark component 25 identify digital landmarks in proximity to theuser's current geographical location relating only to audio creativedigital media. The digital landmark component 25 could then determinethat nearby digital landmarks relating to other types of creativedigital media (e.g., video content or video game content) are lessrelevant to the user's request for audio creative digital mediaassociated with the user's location.

Once the relevance of each nearby digital landmark is determined, thedigital landmark component 25 selects the most relevant digitallandmarks (step 420). For instance, the digital landmark component 25may select a predetermined number of the digital landmarks having thehighest relevance values. In one embodiment, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 selects all the digital landmarks having a relevance valueabove a threshold level of relevance. Once the most relevant nearbydigital landmarks are selected, the digital landmark component 25provides an indication of the most relevant digital landmarks to theuser (step 425), and the method 400 ends. Advantageously, doing soinforms the user of the most relevant nearby digital landmarks, whileavoiding overwhelming the user with information.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitallandmarks, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown, the method 500 begins at step 505, where a digital landmarkcomponent 25 identifies creative digital media related to a receivedlocation. The digital landmark component 25 then determines one or morescenes of the identified creative digital media that are related to thelocation (step 510). For instance, the digital landmark component 25could access a database that stores data relating instances of creativedigital media to various geographic locations. As discussed above, suchrelationships may be based on a wide variety of factors, examples ofwhich include, without limitation, where a scene of the content wasfilmed or recorded, a location the scene depicts, a location associatedwith the genre or the creative digital media, a location referenced(e.g., by name) in the scene, and so on.

Once the scenes are identified, the digital landmark component 25provides at least an indication of the scenes to the user (step 515). Asdiscussed above, the digital landmark component 25 may also provideother information relating to the identified creative digital media tothe user. For instance, the digital landmark component 25 could providetrivia information relating to the scene. In one embodiment, the digitallandmark component 25 may play the scene to the user (e.g., using thevideo player component 315). At step 520, the digital landmark component25 receives a request from the user to watch one of the scenes presentedto the user. In response to the request, the digital landmark component25 transmits a corresponding portion of the creative digital media tothe user for display (step 525), and the method 500 ends.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for identifying digitalcontent related to digital landmarks, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, the method 600 begins at step 605, wherethe digital landmark component 25 receives location informationspecifying a current geographical location of a user. As discussedabove, such location information may be obtained using any technique forobtaining location information (e.g., using GPS coordinates or networkaddress triangulation). Upon receiving the location informationspecifying the geographical location for the user, the digital landmarkcomponent 25 identifies digital media associated with the location (step610). The digital landmark component 25 then provides an indication ofthe most relevant identified digital media to the user (step 615). Forinstance, the digital landmark component 25 could use the method 500(discussed above) to identify the most relevant digital media for theuser. For purposes of this example, assume that the digital mediadetermined to be most relevant to the user includes a first instance ofcreative digital media.

The digital landmark component 25 then identifies other instances ofcreative digital media associated with the first instance of creativedigital media (step 615). Generally, the digital landmark component 25may determine such an association exists based on a wide variety offactors relating the two instances of creative digital media. Forinstance, the digital landmark component 25 could determine that asecond instance of creative digital media is related to the firstinstance based on common artists between the two instances of content.As another example, the digital landmark component 25 could determinetwo instances of creative digital media are related based on the secondinstance being a sequel (or prequel) to the first instance. As yetanother example, the digital landmark component 25 could determine twoinstances are related based on the genre of the instances (e.g., bothinstances are audio content belonging to the “Alternative Rock” genre).Once the associated creative digital media is identified, the digitallandmark component 25 provides an indication of the identified othercreative digital media to the user (step 625), and the method 600 ends.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component 25, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. In this example, the system 780 includes a mobiledevice 700 and a server system 750, communicatively coupled via anetwork 740. As shown, the mobile device 700 includes, withoutlimitation, a processor 705, memory 710, a network interface 725, aglobal positioning system (“GPS”) interface 730 and I/O devices 735.Generally, the processor 705 retrieves and executes programminginstructions stored in the memory 710. Processor 705 is included to berepresentative of a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a single CPU havingmultiple processing cores, GPUs having multiple execution paths, and thelike. The memory 710 is generally included to be representative of arandom access memory. The GPS interface 730 may generally receivesignals transmitted by a GPS satellite, which may then be processed(e.g., using trilateration) to determine a current geographic positionof the mobile device 700. The network interface 725 enables the mobiledevice 700 to connect to the data communications network 740 (e.g.,wired Ethernet connection or an 802.11 wireless network). Further, whilethe depicted embodiment illustrates the components of a particularmobile device 700, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatmobile computing devices may use a variety of different hardwarearchitectures. Moreover, it is explicitly contemplated that embodimentsof the invention may be implemented using any device or computer systemcapable of performing the functions described herein.

Illustratively, the memory 710 includes a digital landmark component 25and an operating system 720. The operating system 720 generally controlsthe execution of application programs on the mobile device 700. Thedigital landmark component 25 may generally identify creative digitalmedia related to a current geographic position of the mobile device 700and provide an indication of the identified creative digital media tothe user. For instance, the digital landmark component 25 may use theGPS interface 730 to determine the current geographic position of themobile device 700. The digital landmark component 25 could then transmitthis location information to a digital landmark server component 765.The digital landmark server component 765 could identify creativedigital media related to the geographic position and return thisinformation to the digital landmark component 25. The digital landmarkcomponent 25 could then display this information to the user (e.g.,using an I/O device 735 such as a display).

The server system 750 contains a processor 755, memory 760 and a networkinterface 775. Generally, the processor 755 retrieves and executesprogramming instructions stored in the memory 760. Processor 755 isincluded to be representative of a single CPU, multiple CPUs, a singleCPU having multiple processing cores, GPUs having multiple executionpaths, and the like. The memory 760 is generally included to berepresentative of a random access memory. The network interface 775enables the server system 750 to connect to the data communicationsnetwork 740 (e.g., wired Ethernet connection or an 802.11 wirelessnetwork).

As shown, memory 760 contains a digital landmark server component 765and an operating system 770. The operating system 770 generally controlsthe execution of application programs on the server system 750. Thedigital landmark server component 765 may be configured to receivelocation information from a requesting entity (e.g., the mobile device700), identify creative digital media associated with the receivedlocation, and transmit an indication of the identified creative digitalmedia to the requesting entity. For example, upon receiving the locationinformation, the digital landmark server component 765 may access adatabase containing a listing of creative digital media and associatedlocations. The digital landmark server component 765 may then query thedatabase to identify creative digital media associated with the receivedlocation, and return the results of the query to the requesting entity.

Although the depicted embodiment uses a client/server model, it isexplicitly contemplated that embodiments of the invention may beimplemented using a single application. In such an embodiment, thedigital landmark component 25 could determine the location of the mobiledevice 700, identify creative digital media associated with thedetermined location (e.g., from creative digital media currently storedon the device), and present the identified creative digital media to theuser. Such a configuration may be preferable, for instance, when themobile device would be unable to connect to the digital landmark servercomponent 765 (e.g., when no network connection is available for themobile device 700).

The I/O devices 735 represent a wide variety of input and outputdevices, including displays, keyboards, touch screens, and so on. Forinstance, the I/O devices 735 may include a display device used toprovide a user interface. As an example, the display may provide a touchsensitive surface allowing the user to select different applications andoptions within an application (e.g., to select an instance of creativedigital media to view). Additionally, the I/O devices 735 may include aset of buttons, switches or other physical device mechanisms forcontrolling the mobile device 700. For example, the I/O devices 735could include a set of directional buttons used to navigate a menupresented on the display. In such a case, the menu could allow users toselect an application program. Additionally, the user interface couldallow users to select, purchase or otherwise obtain creative digitalmedia presented to the user based on the user's current location. Forexample, the digital landmark component 25 could indicate to the userthat a particular movie was filmed at the user's current location andenable the user to download relevant scenes from the movie that arerelated to the user's location.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a system configured to operate adigital landmark component 25, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown, the client device 810 includes a processor815, which obtains instructions and data via a bus from memory 830 andstorage 820. Processing unit 815 is a programmable logic device thatperforms instruction, logic, and mathematical processing, and may berepresentative of one or more CPUs and/or GPUs. Storage 820 storesapplication programs and data for use by the client device 810. Thestorage 820 represents hard-disk drives, flash memory devices, opticalmedia and the like. The client device 810 is operably connected to thenetwork 880 via the network interface 845.

The memory 830 represents any memory sufficiently large to hold thenecessary programs and data structures. Memory 830 could be one or acombination of memory devices, including Random Access Memory,nonvolatile or backup memory (e.g., programmable or Flash memories,read-only memories, etc.). In addition, memory 830 and storage 820 maybe considered to include memory physically located elsewhere; forexample, on another computer communicatively coupled to the clientdevice 810.

The client device 810 also contains a communications interface 850,which enables the client device 810 to communicate with the GPS device860 (via communications interface 870). The communications interface 850represents any interface through which GPS-related data may becommunicated. Examples of the communications interface 850 include,without limitation, universal serial bus (“USB”), Bluetooth®, and so on.Generally, the GPS device 860 represents any device capable of receivingand processing GPS satellite signals. The GPS device 860 contains a GPScomponent 865 and the communications interface 870. The GPS component865 may receive and process GPS satellite signals to determine ageographic location of the GPS device 860. Examples of such a device 860include mobile phones with GPS capabilities, portable GPS devices (e.g.,TomTom® GPS system), and specialized GPS devices designed to add GPSfunctionality to an existing device (e.g., a dongle and associatedapplications that enable GPS capabilities).

The system 800 also includes the server system 750. The server system750 contains the digital landmark server component 765. As shown, theserver system 750 is operably connected to the network 880. As discussedabove, the digital landmark server component 765 may be configured toreceive location information from a requestor (e.g., from the clientdevice 810), identify instances of creative digital media associatedwith the received location, and return the identified instances ofcreative digital media to the requestor.

As shown, memory 240 includes an operating system (OS) 840 and a digitallandmark component 25. Operating system 840 is the software used formanaging the operation of the computer system 810. Examples of operatingsystem 840 include UNIX, a version of the Microsoft Windows® operatingsystem, and distributions of the Linux® operating system. (Note: Linuxis a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and othercountries.) Additional examples of operating system 840 include customoperating systems for gaming consoles, including the custom operatingsystems for systems such as the Nintendo DS® and Sony PSP®.

In the preceding, reference is made to embodiments of the invention.However, the invention is not limited to specific described embodiments.Instead, any combination of the following features and elements, whetherrelated to different embodiments or not, is contemplated to implementand practice the invention. Furthermore, although embodiments of theinvention may achieve advantages over other possible solutions and/orover the prior art, whether or not a particular advantage is achieved bya given embodiment is not limiting of the invention. Thus, the precedingaspects, features, embodiments and advantages are merely illustrativeand are not considered elements or limitations of the appended claimsexcept where explicitly recited in a claim(s). Likewise, reference to“the invention” shall not be construed as a generalization of anyinventive subject matter disclosed herein and shall not be considered tobe an element or limitation of the appended claims except whereexplicitly recited in a claim(s).

Aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method orcomputer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present inventionmay take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirelysoftware embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code,etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that mayall generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or“system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take theform of a computer program product embodied in one or more computerreadable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodiedthereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described above with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

Embodiments of the invention may be provided to end users through acloud computing infrastructure. Cloud computing generally refers to theprovision of scalable computing resources as a service over a network.More formally, cloud computing may be defined as a computing capabilitythat provides an abstraction between the computing resource and itsunderlying technical architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks),enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool ofconfigurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned andreleased with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.Thus, cloud computing allows a user to access virtual computingresources (e.g., storage, data, applications, and even completevirtualized computing systems) in “the cloud,” without regard for theunderlying physical systems (or locations of those systems) used toprovide the computing resources.

Typically, cloud computing resources are provided to a user on apay-per-use basis, where users are charged only for the computingresources actually used (e.g. an amount of storage space consumed by auser or a number of virtualized systems instantiated by the user). Auser can access any of the resources that reside in the cloud at anytime, and from anywhere across the Internet. In context of the presentinvention, a user may access applications (e.g., a digital landmarkserver component 765) or related data available in the cloud. Forexample, the digital landmark server component 765 could execute on acomputing system in the cloud and receive location information for auser (e.g., from a digital landmark component 25 operating on a mobiledevice or a computer system). In such a case, the digital landmarkserver component 765 could determine creative digital media associatedwith the received location for the user by accessing data repositoriescontaining creative digital media and/or metadata related to thecreative digital media at a storage location in the cloud. The digitallandmark server component 765 could then provide an indication to theuser of the determined creative digital media associated with user'slocation. Doing so allows a user to access this information from anycomputing system attached to a network connected to the cloud (e.g., theInternet).

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Each block of the block diagrams and/orflowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagramsand/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special-purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:determining positional information corresponding to a geographiclocation; identifying, by operation of one or more computer processors,one or more instances of creative digital media, from a plurality ofinstances of creative digital media, that include content with apredefined association with the geographic location; and providing anindication of at least a portion of the identified instances of creativedigital media.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining a relevancy value for each of the identifiedinstances of creative digital media; selecting a predetermined number ofthe identified instances of creative digital media having the highestrelevancy values; and providing an indication of the selected instancesof creative digital media having the highest relevancy values.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each instance ofcreative digital media in the plurality of instances of creative digitalmedia is associated with media location information specifying one ormore locations the respective instance of creative digital media isassociated with.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, whereinidentifying one or more instances of creative digital media that have apredefined association with the geographic location further comprises:comparing the received location information with the media locationinformation associated with each instance of creative digital media todetermine similarities there between, wherein the one or more instancesof creative digital media associated with the geographic location areidentified based on the determined similarities.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the media locationinformation for a first instance of creative digital media furtherspecifies route data for a first portion of the creative digital mediathat is associated with the geographic location, wherein the route datadescribes a geographic route travelled during the first portion of thecreative digital media, and further comprising: transmitting the routedata for display.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinidentifying one or more instances of creative digital media that have apredefined association with the geographic location further comprises:identifying all creative digital media associated with locations withina predetermined distance of the geographic location.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving arequest to retrieve at least a portion of an identified instance ofcreative digital media; and transmitting the at least a portion ofcreative digital media for output.
 8. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the location determination algorithm uses at least oneof radio transmission triangulation and network address triangulation tocalculate the geographic location.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the geographic location corresponds to a currentlocation of a user, and further comprising: determining whether the userhas access rights to each of the identified one or more instances ofcreative digital media; and upon determining the user does not haveaccess rights to a first instance of creative digital media, promptingthe user with purchase information for the first instance of creativedigital media.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containinga program that, when executed, performs an operation comprising:determining positional information corresponding to a geographiclocation; identifying one or more instances of creative digital media,from a plurality of instances of creative digital media, that includecontent with a predefined association with the geographic location; andproviding an indication of at least a portion of the identifiedinstances of creative digital media.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, the operation further comprising:determining a relevancy value for each of the identified instances ofcreative digital media; selecting a predetermined number of theidentified instances of creative digital media having the highestrelevancy values; and providing an indication of the selected instancesof creative digital media having the highest relevancy values.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein eachinstance of creative digital media in the plurality of creative digitalmedia is associated with media location information specifying one ormore locations the respective instance of creative digital media isassociated with.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 12, wherein identifying one or more instances of creative digitalmedia that are associated with the specified geographic location furthercomprises: comparing the received location information with the medialocation information associated with each instance of creative digitalmedia to determine similarities there between, wherein the one or moreinstances of creative digital media associated with the specifiedgeographic location are identified based on the determined similarities.14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein themedia location information for a first instance of creative digitalmedia further specifies route data for a first portion of the creativedigital media that is associated with the geographic location, whereinthe route data describes a geographic route travelled during the firstportion of the creative digital media, and further comprising:transmitting the route data for display.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein identifying one or moreinstances of creative digital media that have a predefined associationwith the specified geographic location further comprises: identifyingall creative digital media associated with locations within apredetermined distance of the geographic location.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, the operationfurther comprising: receiving a request to retrieve at least a portionof an identified instance of creative digital media; and transmittingthe at least a portion of creative digital media for output.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein thelocation determination algorithm uses at least one of radio transmissiontriangulation and network address triangulation to calculate thegeographic location.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 10, wherein the geographic location corresponds to a currentlocation of a user, and the operation further comprising: determiningwhether the user has access rights to each of the identified one or moreinstances of creative digital media; and upon determining the user doesnot have access rights to a first instance of creative digital media,prompting the user with purchase information for the first instance ofcreative digital media.
 19. A system, comprising: a processor; and amemory containing a program that, when executed by the processor,performs an operation comprising: determining positional informationcorresponding to a geographic location; identifying one or moreinstances of creative digital media, from a plurality of instances ofcreative digital media, that include content with a predefinedassociation with the geographic location; and providing an indication ofat least a portion of the identified instances of creative digitalmedia.
 20. The system of claim 19, the operation further comprising:determining a relevancy value for each of the identified instances ofcreative digital media; selecting a predetermined number of theidentified instances of creative digital media having the highestrelevancy values; and providing an indication of the selected instancesof creative digital media having the highest relevancy values.